Playing Cupid
by Dutchess Frost
Summary: In which Nishinoya is determined to help Hinata with his relationship. One shot.


It started one day after practice when the team was heading home.

Kageyama hadn't been at practice that day, due to a cold. Tsukishima had joked about it ("The King, taken out by the common cold!") but otherwise, nobody really said anything. Practice ran smoothly, with Sugawara as the setter.

It was only after, when Hinata was walking home, did it happen.

The orange-haired boy left his volleyball shoes at the gym, which the remaining members only noticed a minute after he left. The only ones left in the gym at the time were Nishinoya, Sugawara, and Daichi, who were taking down the nets. The energetic libero was dashing around, gathering all the discarded volleyballs when he caught sight of a pair of small shoes by the bench.

"Hinata left his shoes," Nishinoya called out.

The captain and the vice captain looked over. "He only left a minute ago," Daichi called back, "do you think you can run them to him?"

"Done!" Nishinoya dropped three volleyballs that he was holding (Sugawara sighed in the background), picked up the shoes, and bolted for the doors. "SHOYOOOOOO!" he called out loudly, eyes darting back and forth.

Bless the boy for his ginger hair. Nishinoya saw a flash of bright orange in the distance, running distance away. The libero cried, "SHOYO!" again and started sprinting towards Hinata, shoes in hand.

When he got closer, he realized that the spiker was on the phone. He slowed down and quieted, giving Hinata the privacy he needed.

"You idiot," Hinata was teasing, "that's what you get from staying out too much."

Nishinoya blinked. His tone was... affectionate?

"Practice was fine," Hinata was now arguing, "and yes, I did completely fine without you." Pause. "Rude, Bakayama!" Hinata laughed.

Nishinoya's eyes bugged. Kageyama?

"Get better soon, moron," Hinata teased. "Yeah, I miss you too. Have a good night, Tobio." _First names?!_ He hung up, tucking the phone in his pocket, completely oblivious to Nishinoya's presence, and grabbed the handles of his bike.

Until, at least, the libero said, "You forgot your shoes."

Hinata whirled around, and his face flushed. "O- Oh! Thanks, Nishinoya-senpai!" He set the bike down and trotted forwards, accepting the shoes and tucking them into his bag. "Ha, I forgot," he said with a worried laugh, his cheeks lighting up.

Nishinoya was completely baffled.

"What?" Hinata asked. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

Nishinoya's mouth opened, but no sound came out.

"Noya-senpai?" he continued.

"Are you," Nishinoya said dramatically, "and Kageyama a thing?!"

"WHAT?!" Hinata cried. "N-NO, OF COURSE NOT!" But the way his face went redder than his hair betrayed his words. The tone of his voice on the phone, the affection, the first name... "WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT?! DID YOU HEAR THE PHONE CALL?! DAMMIT, KAGEYAMA IS GOING TO KILL ME-"

"Oh god, you are!" Nishinoya exclaimed.

Hinata's face was still the color of his hair. "N- No, Nishinoya-"

"How long have you guys been together?"

Hinata lowered his head. "T- Two months..."

"WHAT?!" Now it was Nishinoya's turn to scream. "THAT LONG?!"

The decoy nodded, blushing at the ground, and Nishinoya had never seen him at such a loss for words. Nishinoya tried to run through the idea in his brain. The King and the Decoy were... together?!

"You don't care?" Hinata asked suddenly. "That we're..."

"Gay?" Nishinoya scoffed, then laughed. "Daichi and Suga came out months ago, and they've been together forever. It's no big deal. You like girls, you like boys, you like both!" He smiled, pleased with himself. "So why haven't you told anyone?"

Hinata's face went even redder, if that was possible. "T- Kageyama doesn't want to tell anyone yet. Because, well, you know..."

Nishinoya, really... he _didn't_ know. "Shoyo," he said firmly, clapping a hand on the taller boy's shoulder, "I'm proud of you."

"Th- Thanks," he stuttered, offering a small smile. "I want to tell people, but... Kageyama doesn't really want to."

"You want people to know?" Nishinoya repeated, a smile growing on his face. "I can totally help with that."

"No!" Hinata yelped. "Don't-"

"Don't worry," the second year assured him, patting him on the shoulder, "I won't tell anyone. My lips are completely sealed." He mimed zipping his lips and tossing away the key, which made the younger boy laugh.

Hinata's laugh turned into a frown. "So... So, how will people find out? Are you going to get everyone to eavesdrop on my phone calls?!" His voice rose, becoming shrill.

"Nothing like that," Nishinoya said, a plan already forming in his mind. "Kageyama's going to tell everyone."

"He- He _what?_ " Hinata said, clearly dumbfounded. "Are you going to blackmail him?!"

"No," the libero cackled, rubbing his hands together. "Something even better. Now go home and get some sleep. And don't tell Kageyama I found out."

Hinata's face lit up again, a deep crimson. "W- What?! Noya-"

"Good night, Shoyo!" He started skipping off, back to the school.

"NOYA-SENPAI!"

* * *

Practice, a week later, was when Nishinoya put his plan into action.

Kageyama had recovered easily and rejoined practices, and now, Nishinoya was picking up on the small things. Like how Kageyama ruffled Hinata's hair. How Hinata's cheeks were slightly redder than usual when they were bickering. The rest of the team seemed oblivious, and they were doing a pretty good job of hiding it- but it was still there, and the observant libero could see it all now.

Practice ended. Yamaguchi was picking up volleyballs, Asahi was helping Daichi take down the net. Narita, Kinoshita, and Ennoshita had already left- something about homework. Nishinoya saw Hinata bantering with Kageyama and smirked.

"Shoyo!" he called out, waving his hands above his head.

The boy turned, grinning. "Noya-senpai! What's up?"

"Go to the movies with me tomorrow!"

"Huh?" Hinata gasped, gaping at Nishinoya, who was grinning like a kid on Christmas.

"What?" Kageyama said sharply.

"Whaa?!" the rest of the team seemed to say in unison.

Nishinoya rolled his eyes. "Are you deaf or something? Go to the movies with me tomorrow!" His eyes widened. "They're playing that new action movie! It's going to be so good!"

Hinata spluttered, "But- I- You- Who-"

"Just us," Nishinoya confirmed, grinning a shark-tooth grin. "And it's my treat!"

"A date?" Asahi murmured, eyes flickering from Hinata to Nishinoya with interest.

"A date!" the libero confirmed.

The entire team was grinning, with the exception of Kageyama. Even Tsukishima was smirking. Daichi was nodding along, and the team was murmuring praises- at the boldness of Nishinoya's move, mostly. It would be hard for Hinata to say no now.

"It's not like you're already dating someone, right?" Nishinoya said with a demanding yet humorous tone, stomping his foot rapidly. His gaze never wavered from Hinata, but he saw Kageyama tense up.

Hinata's eyes drifted to Kageyama's and back to Nishinoya, and his beet-red face split into a wide grin. "I'll go with you!"

"Woo hoo!" Nishinoya pumped a fist in the air as the team laughed and congratulated the two. Phase one, completed.

And by the lovely shades of red that lit up Kageyama's face, the plan was already working.

* * *

They met up at the theater the next day. Nishinoya was wearing his Karasuno jacket, but Hinata was in a fuzzy grey hoodie that really made his hair pop out. "Thanks for inviting me, Nishinoya," the orange-haired middle blocker said as he paid and went into the theater, "but I can pay for myself."

"No way!" Nishinoya declared. "As your beloved senpai, I got this!" Hinata laughed. The two each got popcorn before bustling into the crowded theater and finding a seat.

"Noya," Hinata mumbled, munching on popcorn, "I think Kageyama is going to hate me."

The libero snickered. "Until he comes forward about your relationship, I'm just going to keep taking you out! Where do you want to go next?"

"Eh?" Hinata cried. "That's your plan?"

Nishinoya nodded rapidly.

"That's actually..." Hinata chewed on a mouthful of popcorn. "That's actually pretty smart."

The libero twitched. "Oi, why do you say that like a surprise?! I'm plenty smart!"

"Only one problem," the orange-haired boy said slowly, swallowing, "I think Kags is going to hate me."

"Nothing he can do about it unless he comes forward," the libero said determinedly, "because I'm going to keep dragging you out with me!" He grinned triumphantly as the lights dimmed in the theater and the movie started playing. "And you're going to have fun," he insisted quietly.

"Thanks, Nishinoya-senpai," Hinata said quietly, his cheeks heating up.

Nishinoya grinned wildly.

* * *

This kept up for almost two weeks, and Nishinoya and Hinata just kept hanging out. From the movies, to the arcade, even a study session at Hinata's house (although it was more board games than studying). And Hinata was having fun. He evidently missed Kageyama, and he'd tell Nishinoya that, but the libero assured him that all would work out in the end.

They'd take stupid selfies together and send them to the rest of the team via group chat, in which they both looked absolutely ridiculous. The team seemed to be enthusiastic, but Kageyama seemed pretty angry. He kept serving towards Nishinoya in practice games, and his serves were actually getting a lot stronger. Nishinoya supposed he deserved it, however.

And then, on an early morning practice, Nishinoya's plan showed the results.

Most of the team was already there. With the exception of Hinata, Kageyama, and Kinoshita, who was apparently out sick with the flu. Nishinoya was bumping the ball in high arcs to Sugawara, who was setting them for Asahi as a warm up, when the freak duo arrived.

They were holding hands.

They were _holding hands._

 _They were holding hands._

"Sorry we're late!" Hinata cried as they marched into the gym. Kageyama's cheeks were a violent shade of red, but Hinata was grinning, his grin so wide that it took up most of his face.

And the team just gaped.

Except Nishinoya, who cheered wildly and leaped at Hinata, hands waving for a high five. "YESSS! I'm so happy for you, Shoyo!" Hinata let go of Kageyama's hand only to high five him back, but eagerly grabbed on to the setter's hand again afterwards.

"Dumbass," Kageyama grumbled, but nobody really knew who it was directed at.

The team started calling out congratulations as Hinata proudly stated that they were together, and he thanked Nishinoya for the 'relationship advice'. Kageyama glared pointedly at Nishinoya as Hinata let go of the setter and dashed for the change room.

"He's all yours," Nishinoya said quietly, snickering to himself. "He always was."

Kageyama's face went even brighter (if possible) and he grumbled, "O- Okay."

"He's really happy, isn't he?" The libero mused as Hinata bounded back into the gym.

Kageyama _smiled_ softly. He actually _smiled._ "He is," the setter agreed, eyes never straying from the bounding ball of sunshine.

And Nishinoya watched them both with a grin on his face.

He should get a job as Cupid's assistant.

* * *

 **Just because those two are such dorks and Nishinoya is an angel. I had to.**

 **Reviews are appreciated!~**


End file.
